Personal computers and workstations are typically provided with display screens which, during periods of inactivity, activate screen savers which typically display an image or a blank screen on the display. These displays are typically static in nature, in that they are either of a fixed image that is moved around the screen (such as a text string “I'm away from my computer” or a logo such as “Microsoft Windows”™, or a pseudo-random computer generated display such as a bouncing ball or a graphically generated moving maze, or the like.
As recognized by the present inventors, what is needed is a screen controller for providing a display of images, such as real time images obtained from “web cameras” of Internet web sites, for a computer display in a programmatic manner—either during a screen saver mode or to a display during normal operations if desired by the user.
It is against this background that various embodiments of the present invention were developed.